Time's Pleasures
by Douglas Neman
Summary: Romana wants to experience sex, and she can think of only one person who would be the perfect partner.


Romana had a lot of patience, but after putting up with the randomizer for fourteen hours, she decided enough was enough.

Oh, it was all very well in theory. She and the Doctor had just prevented the Black Guardian from capturing the Key to Time. Now the Doctor had a new gadget called a randomizer hooked to the navigation circuits. It chose _truly_ random numbers, not just the next number in line as generated by a seed. (The Doctor had mumbled something about it being a positronic copy of a mouse brain, hooked into an electronic maze the size of Earth's galaxy and forever looking for a nonexistent bit of cheese. Romana didn't know if he was joking. She didn't _want_ to know.) Since the Black Guardian was almost omniscient, only a truly random coordinate could shake him off their trail.

But the randomizer had started to smoke soon after activation and now the TARDIS was hanging dead in space, somewhere between a couple of galaxies, 50 million light years from everywhere. The Doctor kept insisting that he knew just how to fix the problem, and he was not paying the slightest bit of attention to any of the suggestions Romana had so diligently, patiently put forth – especially the one she was absolutely certain about, which was that the randomizer had been plugged in facing the wrong way.

Fine.

She stalked the corridors angrily, wondering exactly what she was doing and where she was going. Both now and in general.

The White Guardian had stuck her with the Doctor, who wasn't so bad, all things considered. But they had been so busy since the moment they met, finding the Key to Time, that she hadn't had any opportunity to explore the TARDIS, personalize her room, choose a wardrobe for the next week, or decide what to do with her life. And these were all important decisions.

The only thing she knew for certain was that she absolutely would not return to Gallifrey. Her life had been turned upside-down recently, being thrust out into the big bad universe, away from the sanitized, sterilized, homogenized safety of Gallifrey's transduction barrier. It had been like being dunked in a pool of ice-cold water and held under for minutes at a time.

But as frightening as the universe was, she liked it. She supposed the White Guardian had chosen her for a reason. Perhaps he had known of a latent wanderlust which she herself had never suspected having. Whatever the reason, she was grateful.

She never once allowed the Doctor to know she felt this way, of course. The pompous git.

So what to do now? Stay with the Doctor? He was arrogant at times, but he did have a TARDIS, which offered mobility on a scale that was difficult to walk away from. If she left him, she would have to choose a destination, and a reason.

She reluctantly admitted to herself that she had nowhere to go. But someday, she knew, she would strike out on her own and be her own Romana. Until then, she needed to stay with the Doctor and learn all she could. She could decide what to do with her life when the moment was right, she felt sure.

In the meantime, she ached for more knowledge, more experiences. It was a hunger gnawing at her soul. But until the Doctor got the randomizer sorted out, they weren't going anywhere.

She wandered to the TARDIS library, losing her anger and accepting her current predicament with a coolness other species would have found impossible. But to Time Lords – and to Time Ladies – a few days was less than a blink of an eye. They would move on soon, and within one week she would never even remember having been stranded in space.

She browsed the books with fascination, quickly reading the titles and scanning through several volumes.

A book on a lower shelf caught her eye. _Human Sexuality: The Joys of Lovemaking_. She pulled it out, thinking that it was an odd thing for the Doctor to have around. But the Doctor had confessed that humanity was his favorite species, and she supposed that reading books about what motivated them to do the crazy things they did helped him to understand them better.

She coolly looked at the pictures of the male and female models depicting different positions, turning the book this way and that to get a better view. She had the capacity to have sexual intercourse, of course, but no real need. Few Time Lords (according to the surveys, anyway) ever experienced feelings of sexual arousal, and to be honest, in the absence of sexual stimuli, the thought of sex was actually pretty disgusting. Most Time Lords were puzzled as to why anyone would want to put themselves in awkward, undignified positions, stick their organs in each other and get all messy. But they knew that lesser species procreated in just such a manner, and they accepted it as a biological fact of the universe and didn't really let it bother them too much.

But as Romana read about the clitoris, and about the heights of ecstasy which stimulating it could bring to a woman, she became intrigued. She didn't know much about sex beyond the basics, but as she read more, she began to realize that there was a lot more to it than the simple facts of penetration, ejaculation, and impregnation. There was pleasure, touching, caressing, hugging, and kissing.

Like most Time Lords, Romana did not like the thought of getting overly physical, in any way. Just hugging someone briefly would take almost all her stamina. But she was beginning to think that it would broaden her mind and her experiences if she went to a planet populated with humanoid creatures, preferably humans from Earth, and attempted to have sexual intercourse with one of the natives.

Then she sighed. No, the idea did not really appeal to her all that much. First of all, if she were to find a sexual partner, her first consideration would be discretion. She would feel intensely uncomfortable letting the Doctor know her intentions. Second, the male partner would have to be someone with whom she was absolutely comfortable with the idea of being touched _at all_ , and this was almost impossible just on general principal. Third, the male partner would have to be someone so smart, so sensitive, so relaxed, and so responsive that he would have to be a rare individual, indeed. And fourth, she wanted to be completely selfish about the sexual act. She wanted someone to caress her and give her pleasure, but she wasn't really interested in doing the same in return to any male partner, for the thought held no appeal.

She could try masturbation, however. She quickly memorized the chapter on that subject, then reached down to touch herself where it said to. To her utter surprise and delight, it felt really wonderful. She did it some more, and waves of pleasure washed over her. That was astonishing. She wondered why she'd never done it before. It probably just hadn't occurred to her, she guessed.

She definitely wanted to try more of that later, in her room, but not now in the library. She idly flipped through a few more pages before planning to close the book and move on, but one page suddenly caught her eye. It showed two women caressing each other. It was a brief chapter about homosexuality, and the inherent problems of acceptance that some people had.

It was typical, she thought, that humans would think differently of homosexual tendencies than they would heterosexual, even though one was as completely natural as the other. Romana was finding that humans displayed their primitive, fatalistic nature in many things. Apparently, sex was just one of them. To her, sex with either a male or a female was equally intriguing, since nature hadn't really given her any inclination towards either one.

It occurred to her that a woman, at least, would know where to touch her.

She put the book back. Then her face lit up as she caught sight of _Life Cycles of the Gallifreyan Flutterwing_ , third edition. She opened it up and took a quick trip down memory lane, being occasionally surprised at some of the facts which obviously hadn't been discovered at the time of the book's publication. Her Academy course had used the seventh edition. _Honestly, Doctor_ , she thought, _you should update your library more frequently_.

She was interrupted by the sound of mechanical wheels approaching. "Mistress," K-9 said. "The Doctor-master wished me to inform you that he has repaired the randomizer and that we have landed on a populated world."

"Can't the Doctor find anything better to use you for than as a messenger, K-9?"

K-9's antenna ears waggled back and forth for several seconds. "Negative." His head drooped.

"That's all right. Let's go see if he can give an adequate explanation for the randomizer malfunction."

"Probability of Doctor-master making coherent sense while explaining malfunction: 18 percent."

"As high as that?"

For once, K-9 didn't know what to say.

She found the Doctor pacing around the console room, kicking his scarf this way and that. "We've landed," he said.

She was instantly smug. He didn't want to talk about the randomizer. "So what was the problem?"

"What problem?" He opened the doors.

She closed them. His gaze darted around in disbelief, looking at the closing doors, her hand on the lever, and her face, in an apparently random order.

"What was wrong with the randomizer?" she asked. She didn't take her hand off the door control.

"The what?" he asked. "The randomizer?" He actually tried to look as if he didn't understand what she was talking about for a second, then waved his hand around dismissively. "Pffff. Well, you know. Just a touch of this and that."

"It was plugged in the wrong way, wasn't it?"

"What?"

"It…was…plugged…in-"

"All right, all right, yes, I heard you. There's no need to get sarcastic."

She looked at him patiently. She could wait. She had all the time in the universe. And it was worth it.

"You do know that sarcasm's an adjusted stress reaction, don't you?" he asked.

"I gather someone very brilliant once told you that."

"Probably," he answered, nodding vigorously. He rubbed his neck thoughtfully.

"Well?" she asked again.

"Well what?"

She resisted the urge to throttle him. "What was wrong with the randomizer? Specifically."

He made a face, looked at the floor, kicked awkwardly at his scarf and mumbled something.

"K-9, did you understand what he just said?"

"The Doctor-master just stated that the randomizer-"

"Was plugged in the wrong way!" the Doctor shouted. "Are you satisfied?"

"Very." She opened the doors. "Shall we?"

The Doctor looked at her appraisingly, cleared his throat, hunched his shoulders, and strode out the door. Romana and K-9 followed.

They emerged into a city at street level. The sun was a third of the way up the sky, but whether it was morning or afternoon was anyone's guess. The city was alive with so much life and noise that Romana winced at first. Street vendors, vehicles, performance artists, pedestrians, and bicyclists surrounded them in a blur of motion. It looked to Romana as if this was some kind of business center, yet the buildings around them strongly resembled tenement housing. Clothing was hung from a nearby line. Children ran everywhere.

The Doctor just grinned at it all. "Welcome to Canellopus Major!" he said. "Human colony, late 23rd century. Nice economy, very robust."

Romana let out a shout of alarm as a boy on a speeding bicycle whizzed past her, forcing her to jump back to avoid a collision. "Of all the…" she tried to say, too indignant to finish her sentence. "Doctor, did you see that? That boy almost hit me, and he didn't even care!"

Apparently, neither did the Doctor. "They've got a fantastic carnival here every year," he simply said. "It lasts for two weeks."

"And we've landed in the middle of it," Romana said.

"What? Oh, no. No no no. This is normal for Canellopus Major. In fact, it looks like a bit of a slow day. During the carnival, the streets are _really_ packed."

Romana just rubbed her shoulders and continued to look around in wonder. She didn't want to be here, but since she had no place in particular that she _did_ want to be, she supposed it was as good a place as any. Still, she wished the TARDIS would find a nice lake, with fields and some mountains in the distance. Some place that no intelligent life had ever visited before, with lovely air and a beautiful sky.

Another cyclist almost ran her over. It was really irritating how it wasn't happening to the Doctor.

Not only did she not want to get flattened in the street, she didn't want to ruin her outfit. She wore a light purple dress with brocaded sleeves and matching shoes, and her dark hair fell neatly past her shoulders.

As they moved through the crowd, taking in the sights, the smells, and the sounds, the Doctor told Romana a little about the colony's history. She had already decided that she never wanted to return, so she tuned most of it out.

The Doctor paused to buy a roll of sweet meat. As he tried to convince the vendor that 20 Japanese yen and a holaf pebble from Rigellia III was perfectly viable currency, a young man came sprinting madly down the street and crashed into Romana. They both ended up on the pavement.

"That's it!" she shouted, picking herself up. But when she turned to give the young man a piece of her mind, she saw that he was desperately scrambling to his feet, a haunted, terrified expression on his face. He fearfully looked back the way he'd come, then ran on without another word.

"Wait!" she called, running after him. After two blocks he disappeared into a florist's shop, and she followed him in. She ran through the open display area in front, deeper into the shop, searching left and right along the network of aisles which displayed exotic plants stacked on shelves three meters high. Powerful, heady aromas overtook her as she searched through waves of heat and mist sprayed from above.

She turned a corner between two displays and suddenly ran into him again. She quickly grabbed the front of his shirt to keep him there.

"Listen-" was all she managed to say as he savagely pushed her down with a yell and turned to run. But suddenly they were both surrounded by a group of four other young men. Four very tough young men, all of whom blocked any escape. One of them shoved the boy onto the ground with a sneer. He landed beside Romana.

Bullies. Romana could tell that instantly. If there was one thing in the universe she detested more than anything else, it was a big, dumb bully. And when they gathered in groups, their stupidity seemed to increase exponentially. She idly wondered if there was an actual mathematical formula which she could apply to such a concept.

"What's going on here?" a voice said. An elderly, chubby man approached them.

"Nothing you need to worry about, shopkeeper," one of them said. "Just go water your plants and leave us alone."

"Listen, I don't want any trouble in my place," he said, glancing at Romana and the boy. Romana began to help him up, but they were both quickly knocked to the ground again.

"The only way you won't get any trouble is by leaving us alone!" another said. "We doin' what Chapayelle wants us to do. If you got a problem with that, you go see him."

Romana didn't know who Chapayelle was, but the mention of his name caused the shopkeeper's face to turn white, and he started to tremble. "Well…like I said, no trouble. Okay?"

"Just pretend we ain't here," the first bully spoke again.

The florist nodded, his lips tight, and gave Romana a look that was filled with apology. It was clear that he never expected to see her again. He turned and shuffled away.

The first bully crouched down and drew a knife. He held it menacingly in front of the boy. "Pretty friend you got there, Alfred."

"She's not my friend, Reggie. I don't know her."

"He's telling the truth. My name is Rom-"

A hand grasped Romana around the throat. "No one told you to speak, did they?" a voice whispered in her ear. She was thrust to the ground again. She looked up, rubbing her throat, but kept silent.

"Now, you and me both know what's gonna happen," Reggie said. "You're gonna hand the chip over now and die quick, or you're gonna be stupid and die slow. It's your call."

"Ahem," the Doctor said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Reggie grinned, stood up and turned around slowly.

"Good evening," the Doctor said, all smiles. "Or is it good morning? We're still not sure. When I say 'We,' I mean myself and my friend Romana. That's Romana there, sitting on the ground, looking like you've been treating her in a way no lady should be treated. Am I right? Or am I right?"

"You got some strange friends, Alfred," Reggie said, taking in the Doctor's odd manner and appearance. "Don't know where you picked 'em up, but it just means more fun for me and the boys."

"Ah, I was hoping you would understand what I was trying to imply," the Doctor said. "But I guess I'll have to spell it out for you, which is so tedious. Let the woman and the young man go. It really would be in your best interest to do so."

They all laughed, and Reggie dove for the Doctor.

Who wasn't there.

Reggie sailed neatly through the space in which the Doctor had just been standing and landed in a heap. He whipped his head around and stared back at the Doctor, who was now back where he'd been standing before, grinning like a maniac and the center of attention.

Romana rolled her eyes. She quickly stood, then helped Alfred to his feet.

Reggie snarled and lunged again, as did the rest of his gang. The Doctor smoothly caught Reggie and used his own momentum to send him flying past again, and he sailed into the first of the other thugs rushing him from that direction. They both went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

This slowed the remaining two bullies as it blocked the narrow aisle. Romana took the opportunity to pick up a potted plant and smash it onto the head of the one who had choked her briefly. The pot shattered and he slipped to the ground. A clump of dirt with a single flower sat perfectly on his forehead.

A laser beam shot past Romana and hit the fourth thug, who fell next to his companions.

K-9 rolled up. "No other hostiles detected in the vicinity, master."

The Doctor stepped over the thugs and offered a small white bag to Alfred, who was staring at him in sheer terror. "You must be Alfred. I've heard so much about you. Would you like a jelly baby?"

Alfred sprinted away.

"How extraordinary," the Doctor muttered, munching on one of the sweets. "I usually get along so well with people on the run from evil overlords."

Romana stood up and brushed the dirt off her dress as best she could. "Doctor," she said. "The man these people are working for is named Chapayelle. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No. K-9?"

"Negative, master. That name is not found within my databanks."

"I'll go find the shopkeeper," Romana said. "I'm sure he can tell me about this person."

"You do that," the Doctor said. "I'll ask our friends, here."

Romana set off through the myriad of plants. She found the florist sitting in a chair in the back. When he saw her, he just about fell off of it.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to harm you," Romana said. "I was just wondering if you could tell me who those bullies were, and who Chapayelle is."

The man boggled at her. "You…you mean…you don't know?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking, would I?"

He gulped once. "Look…I don't want any trouble. Just go, okay? Please?"

Romana sighed. She could tell from the man's terrified expression that he wasn't going to be any help. She left him there, sitting in a world of his own worries.

As she made her way back to the Doctor, she found herself pausing long enough to admire and smell the lovely forest of flowers around her. She could see that most of them weren't from Earth, so they were probably local to this planet. She read the tags beneath each plant: "Aliberon," "Soliana Maris," "Dewfall."

She stopped and stared at one flower in particular. The tag read, "Time's Pleasure." The detailed writing on the tag explained that the flower's name came from the unique shape of its petals, which resembled the symbol for infinity.

Romana looked closely at the flower and saw that it was so. Each petal narrowed about halfway along its length, then widened again, forming a figure eight shape. It was purest white, and smelled beautiful.

She put one in her dark hair, thinking about the odd name. Time's Pleasure. What pleasures did time bring? she wondered. Sugar and spice and everything nice? Rainbows and kittens and warm woolen mittens? How about absolution, healing, and forgiveness?

Time's pleasures.

The cosmos suddenly whirled around her in a kaleidoscope of color as she had one _incredibly_ wild idea.

 _No!_ she thought. _I mustn't! It's wrong, and if I were to be caught, I would be in_ so _much trouble._

But she couldn't help it. Her insides churned with the thought of what she could do.

No one would know.

She licked her suddenly dry lips and walked back to the Doctor. He had just finished tying up Reggie, who simply looked defiant.

"Are they being stubborn?" she asked, trying to feign her usual aloof self. But she knew that inside, she was shaking.

The Doctor didn't seem to notice. "They're not brave. They're just so scared of whoever Chapayelle is that they don't dare say a word. Any luck from the shopkeeper?"

"Same story, I'm afraid." Romana licked her lips again and said, "Doctor…would you mind terribly if I said that I had something important to do? Something very personal?"

"No. Why?"

"It's just that…well, whoever this Chapayelle is, he seems like a regular human bully. I'm sure you and K-9 can handle him quite easily."

"You want to go off and leave us to it, eh?"

"That's right. If you don't mind."

He shrugged. "Every Time Lord's entitled to a holiday once every 400 years. I don't see why not. K-9 and I will ask around for Chapayelle, search for our young friend Alfred, see if we can find out what's going on. Don't you worry about us."

She smiled. The Doctor could really be a class act when he wanted to. "Thank you, Doctor. I'll see you later." She left the shop.

"You know, K-9, doesn't it seem odd that Romana was all right when she went to talk to the shopkeeper, but seemed really agitated about something when she returned?"

"This unit detected no significant changes in the mistress Romana," K-9 said.

"Really? Well, let's go see the shopkeeper, anyway. I'd like to have a little chat with him."

A net came down over both the Doctor and K-9. "I don't think so," a voice said. "Chapayelle wants to have a word with you!"

"Oh, dear," the Doctor said.

* * *

Romana's reason for leaving, she kept telling herself, was to give her head time to clear and to talk herself out of this ridiculous notion. But the more she thought about it, she realized that she really, really wanted to do it.

She shook all over. It was an incredibly risky, stupid thing to do. She was being tempted by the power that came with being a Time Lord. But it was a temptation that she slowly realized she was giving into.

 _Well_ , she thought. _There's one way to find out._

She asked a few of the street vendors where she could find a nice, quiet restaurant, and was directed to a place a few blocks further on. She also asked what the date was – the precise date, including the year and the type of calendar being used. She bought a watch from a merchant and made sure it was set to the correct time. She didn't want to make any mistake.

Then she slowly made her way to the restaurant and looked at it from across the street, taking deep breaths. The sun climbed higher into an azure sky; the people around her were just as loud and as happy as usual. Such an odd place to commit one of the worst crimes in the universe. She drank in the sights and sounds, committing them to memory.

She stepped off the curb and made her way across the street. As if her feet were working gears in her mind, she slowly made a decision with each step.

 _I promise that after I regenerate, whenever that may be, I will return to this restaurant, on this day, at this time, and meet myself._

She reached the other side of the street. There was still time to back out. A long, long time. If she entered the restaurant and found no other Romana there, that meant either she would change her mind or she was destined to die.

She would be finished as a Time Lord if anyone found out her intentions. Even the Doctor would be furious.

She took a deep breath and entered the restaurant. Its foyer was dark, plush, and silent. Perfect.

The hostess picked up a menu. "Just one?"

"Actually, I'm meeting someone here." She trembled, ever so slightly.

"What's your name?"

"Romana."

"And the name of the party you're meeting?"

Romana hesitated. She was about to answer, "Fred," when she felt two gentle hands lay themselves on her shoulders from behind.

"It's all right," a husky voice whispered in her ear. "I'm here."

Time slowed down. The rest of the world dragged itself through a sea of temporal molasses, caught in the wake as two time fields belonging to the same Time Lord clashed. Romana's biosenses went haywire and her heart felt like it was about to hammer its way right out of her chest. She prepared herself to break, irrevocably, the First Law of Time, and the most solemn oath she had ever made. She slowly turned and came face to face with…

"Princess Astra?"

The second Romana just smiled. "No. I'm you. I took the form of the Princess when I regenerated."

"Oh." The first Romana smiled, relieved that that much, at least, was cleared up.

Time resumed its normal pace around them as the clashing time fields settled down and got used to each other.

Romana I turned to the hostess. "We're both here. We'd like a table that's as private as possible, please."

"Of course. This way, please." She led them to a table in a corner and they sat down, looking intently at each other. The second Romana was dressed in black slacks and a royal blue satin blouse, with a large gold 'R' pinned above her left breast.

"So," Romana I said awkwardly. "I suppose you already know what's going to happen, and what we're going to say."

Romana II shrugged. "Perhaps. I shan't tell you anything you don't need to know."

"Of course."

"I know you're nervous," Romana II said. "Please don't be. I also know you feel some guilt over what we're doing. Please don't."

"It is wrong, though, isn't it?"

Romana II shrugged. "Define _wrong_."

"Is it really that easy to dismiss?"

"I consider myself – both of us – to be a good person," Romana II said. "Just once, I wanted to do something really extraordinary, something just for myself. So here we are."

"But isn't that just how corruption begins?" Romana I asked suddenly. "I mean, whenever people misuse power for something personal, thinking that it won't harm anyone else, it usually sets them on a path in which it's easier to abuse that power a second time, and then a third, and a fourth. And then it becomes acceptable to abuse that power for other reasons, and still other reasons. Eventually, the person becomes corrupt if no greater force checks that use of power."

"I know your fear," Romana II said. "And I share it. Perhaps this is a mistake. But if it is, let it be a mistake we learn from." She reached across the table to grasp her former self's hand. "We were tempted by a very, very powerful fire. If it's going to burn us, let it be now."

Romana I looked into her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.

* * *

They spoke – the second Romana being very careful with what she said – about traveling with the Doctor, their time on Gallifrey, and the possible origins of the Guardians. The meal was wonderful. They spent a lot of time carefully observing one another, each intrigued by what she saw on the other side of the table.

As they finished, Romana II said, "I know why I'm here. I'm willing to do it all over again." She smiled.

Romana I nodded. "We'll need a hotel room."

"We've already got one." Romana II smiled coyly. "I've had the bridal suite at the best hotel in this city reserved for the last year, and I checked in this morning."

They stepped out into the afternoon city street and walked hand in hand. It felt good to both of them, feeling the warmth of each other's hand, reassuring them that their past and future were both very much alive. They drank in the sights and sounds and smells of the bustling city. The first Romana noticed that it didn't bother her future self at all, and she marveled at how truly graceful she looked moving through the crowds.

For the first time, it occurred to her that she was really, really going to enjoy peeling away that outfit and touching her body all over.

They crossed a wide plaza near the center of the city. It was dominated by a large screen showing advertisements and other useless fluff. When they were about halfway across the plaza, the screen suddenly changed to show a fat, bald man in a flashy uniform.

"Attention, all citizens of Canellopus City! This is General Chapayelle. Be on the lookout for a dangerous criminal known as the Doctor, and his assistant, Alfred Zelliza!" Pictures of the Doctor (grinning hugely, of course) and Alfred (looking scared) duly appeared on the screen. "These two criminals are wanted for committing violent acts of terrorism against the state! They escaped from our maximum security prison less than an hour ago and they are on the loose! If anyone spots these two men, inform the authorities immediately! I repeat: if any-"

"We heard you the first time, baldy," boomed the Doctor's voice. The screen had changed to show the Doctor and Alfred standing side by side. "We interrupt this broadcast to bring you an important bulletin," he continued. "Alfred and I are inside the General's headquarters, and we only have a few seconds before they track us down and block this signal. But I want everyone to know that the General has supplied your city with wealth by exploiting the native population of this planet.

"Now, I know that you were all told that this planet _has_ no native population. That's a lie. Your entire city is built upon a lie. Alfred, here, risked his life to obtain footage of the truth." The screen showed a harsh labor camp, in which a humanoid species taller than humans, with very thin, high heads and thin bodies, struggled to haul carts and break apart rocks. "This is what your city is built upon. This is the work of your precious General, and he's frightened of the truth. That's the reason he wants to stop us. This camp is situated high in the hills to the sout-"

The general returned. "Ignore that!" he screeched. "What you just saw was a perfect example of terrorist lies! I'll be making a full speech tonight. Rest easy, citizens. These traitors shall be dead within the hour!" The screen returned to its fluffy advertising.

Around them, the people looked at each other, shrugged and got on with what they were doing.

"Don't," Romana II said.

"What?" Romana I asked.

"Don't feel guilty about leaving him. To ease your conscience, I'll tell you that everything turns out just fine. This day will be long remembered as the day the Berellians are set free and the general is arrested. And it happens without any bloodshed."

"Oh, good," Romana I said, feeling immensely relieved.

They walked on to the hotel. In the lift, Romana II inserted a special card which enabled it to take them to the top floor, whereupon it opened directly onto the bridal suite, the only room on that level.

The first Romana slowly walked to the huge bed and sat down, then watched as her future self locked off the lift and disabled the vidphone, preventing any interruptions. She watched the shape of her other self's behind as it beautifully, elegantly filled out the black slacks she wore. The second Romana dimmed the lights down to about half strength and lit several candles.

Then the Romana with long, beautiful blonde hair walked across the carpeted room, slowly advancing on her younger self. Her dark blue satin blouse and gold brooch reflected the candlelight, mesmerizing the first Romana. No words were needed. They each knew what the other wanted. They each knew where the perfect place would be to touch the other. They each knew exactly what to do, and when.

It was the most perfect form of masturbation in the universe.

Romana I slowly drifted her fingernails up the fabric of Romana II's clothes, starting with her thighs, over her stomach and up to her breasts. The elder Romana closed her eyes and sighed. Romana I began unbuttoning the blouse, one clasp at a time. The shiny blue fabric gave way to reveal smooth white skin and a black satin bra beneath. Romana I kissed her other self on the stomach and on her breasts, pulling the blouse away from her body and letting it fall.

Romana II gently pulled her younger self off the bed and began tugging at her dress. Romana I unzipped it down the back, and Romana II pulled it up over her head, revealing a bra, panties and stockings the same light lavender as the dress. The first Romana kicked off her shoes, running her hands over Romana II's body, and leaned forward to kiss her.

Their lips met, softly at first, then more firmly and with passion. Their tongues explored each other. Each felt the warmth of the other's breasts on her own as they met. Their hands drifted lightly over each others bodies, caressing backs, then grasping each other's buttocks madly. Romana I gently lowered her kisses, working her way down the chin, the neck, onto both breasts, the stomach, and ended at Romana II's black slacks. She slowly unclasped them and pulled them down, revealing black panties beneath.

Romana II bent down to remove the slacks fully, giving Romana I a spectacular view of her entire body, now covered only by two pieces of clothing. She quickly removed her own stockings, hardly able to contain herself any more.

The second Romana slowly reached behind her and unclasped her bra. The first Romana eased the straps off Romana II's shoulders and pulled the bra away, revealing two beautiful breasts and bright red nipples. She sat on the bed again and licked them gently, then began sucking on them, savoring their taste. Romana II moaned, remembering also what it was like to be the one doing the suckling at the same time.

After many minutes, the first Romana slowly brought her kisses back up to the second Romana's lips. Romana II peeled away the bra of her younger self, looking upon the breasts she used to have, and lightly ran her fingers over her darker nipples. The first Romana leaned back her head and moaned.

They leaned towards each other, letting the nipples of their breasts lightly touch each other, rubbing back and forth, ever so gently. Romana II ran her fingertips down Romana I's back, then lowered her head and began sucking on her younger self's nipples, causing more moans of joy. She gently leaned the other Romana onto the bed as she did.

After some time, she let her kisses stray further down her body and gently eased her fingertips into the elastic of the younger Romana's lilac panties. She pulled them down, revealing a beautiful triangular patch of jet black hair. Romana II ran her finger lightly over her vulva, causing Romana I to arch her back into the air and cry aloud to the ceiling.

Romana II smiled. Oh, did she remember feeling that!

She rolled her younger self over to get a good look at her gorgeous butt, kissing her buns lightly and running a finger over them. She let her breasts rest on those buttocks for a few seconds, feeling the shared warmth of their bodies, then moved her breasts back and forth, letting each one rest lightly between those beautiful buns. Then she gave Romana I a light, playful spank and heard a surprised yelp.

She stood up, rolling her younger self back over and pulling her by the arms so she would sit up. Breathing hard, Romana I sank to her knees on the floor and gently pulled down the black panties of Romana II, revealing a golden brown patch of beautiful, triangular fur. She breathed hard on it, and the very air running over her vulva sent shivers through Romana II's body. Romana I also let her finger lightly run along those lips, giving her future self a small taste of what was to come. Romana I turned Romana II all the way around, letting her eyes, her fingertips, her lips and her breasts run over the beautiful buns she would one day have. Then she once more rose to her feet, hardly able to contain her desire.

Each Romana stood and faced herself, gloriously naked, breathing hard, one dark-haired beauty and one blonde beauty, bathed in candlelight. They slowly wrapped their arms around each other and kissed passionately, letting their hands, their legs, their breasts, their stomachs feel each other from head to toe. They each worked one thigh between the other's legs and began to rub themselves up and down, while their hands grabbed each others' buns.

They slowly toppled onto the bed, kissing each other, sucking on each other, rubbing their vulvae together, in perfect synchronicity. The first Romana turned to face the opposite end of the bed and slowly lowered her face between the legs of the second Romana, letting her tongue and find the places she knew she wanted to feel herself. Her future self did the same for her.

They made love in that bed for many hours, giving each other numerous orgasms in many different ways. Occasionally, they just lay holding each other, talking and laughing, but the caressing and lovemaking would start again.

When they decided that they were sweaty and tired of the bed, they moved to the shower.

* * *

They helped each other dress when they were finished and found themselves comparing fashion tips. But when Romana II reached for her handbag she accidentally knocked it over, spilling the contents onto the floor at the feet of Romana I, who immediately knelt to pick them up.

"Please don't," Romana II said hurriedly, but it was too late.

Romana I's eyes grew wide as she spotted something truly extraordinary in the collection of stuff before her. She picked it up. "The seal of the President of the High Council of Time Lords," she breathed, slowly looking up at her future self in awe.

Romana II took it from her. "Forget you saw that. Please?"

"I'll try," Romana I whispered. "But…won't I remember not to drop the handbag when I'm you? To prevent me from seeing that?"

"No," Romana II shook her head sadly. "I forgot all about it. So will you. It has happened. It will happen."

Romana I stood up and nodded, still stunned that she would one day become the President. The President! Her! It boggled her mind.

"It's a long way off, believe me," Romana II said. "Oh, do please try to forget it. The knowledge you just gained might cause you to behave differently, preventing it from happening."

"All right, I'll think no more about it," Romana I promised. "There's no use worrying about another lifetime, anyway."

They looked each other in the eyes, then slowly kissed again and embraced.

"This was wonderful," Romana I whispered.

"And the best part is, you'll get to do it again," Romana II whispered back.

They parted. "It would be best if we left separately," Romana II said. "I'm fairly sure no one knows we're doing this, but I don't want to take any chances. The hotel bill has already been settled."

Romana I nodded, but said, "This is so odd. I feel like we're having an affair."

"Well, in a way, we are." Romana II smiled. "And we both know why we have to be careful."

Romana I nodded again. "You know what I'm thinking?" she asked.

"Yes," Romana II said, and they burst out laughing. "You're thinking that we should choose a date and time on another planet and have a huge orgy with all 13 of ourselves, and we get to revisit that one event in history 13 times over."

"Yes," Romana I said. "But the temporal mechanics of such an event would be staggering."

"And almost completely impossible," Romana II said. "No, we should make this the only occurrence. At least for several millennia."

"At least we've got our memory," Romana I said. "We can relive this day any time we want to."

"Absolutely," Romana II agreed. "Now, when you leave, go two blocks north. You'll find K-9 searching for you."

They kissed one last time, long and passionately.

Then, without a word, the second Romana stepped into the lift. The doors closed, taking her out of the first Romana's life forever, except as a being she would one day become, and the most wonderful memory she would ever have.

She waited five minutes and left also. There was no sign of her future self. She walked two blocks north and met K-9.

"Mistress," he said. "The-" _cough cough_ "-Doctor-master sent me to-" _cough_ "-retrieve you."

"Very well. Is he all right?"

"Affirmative. Authorities-" _cough_ "-from Earth are on-" _cough_ "-their way and the Berellians have been freed." _Cough cough._ "However, General Chapayelle is still at large."

"K-9, what is the matter with your voice?"

"Unknown, mistress." _Cough._

"Where is the Doctor?"

"He is coordinating-" _cough_ "-the revolution from within the general's-" _cough_ "-headquarters."

"Then let's go see how he's doing."

"Query: when-" _cough_ "-searching for your telepathic-" _cough_ "-trace, I detected two sources at different points in the city at the-" _cough_ "-same time. Cause unknown."

"Can you detect two different sources now?"

K-9's ears waggled back and forth. "Negative."

"I have no idea what it could have been, K-9. Perhaps it's some kind of problem related to that cough of yours."

* * *

When Romana and K-9 opened the doors to the General's control room, they found a delicate situation.

The first thing Romana noticed was that the Doctor and various officials had their backs against the far wall, facing her. The second thing she noticed was that near the door, facing away from her, were General Chapayelle and Alfred. The third thing she noticed was that the General was holding Alfred hostage, and had just been about to make his escape when she came along.

K-9 stunned the general.

"Well done, K-9!" the Doctor said, and turned to the men on either side of him. "Well, gentlemen, he's all yours. Hopefully, the Bellerians will understand that the entire human race isn't responsible for their enslavement and will be satisfied with the general's capture."

"We hope so, Doctor," one of them said, as several guards stepped forward and carried the general away.

Alfred, sighing with relief, approached the Doctor. "I want to thank you so much, Doctor. We couldn't have done it without you. I'm sorry for not trusting you at first."

"Oh, that's perfectly all right. You're a good man. But now it's time we were going." He strode for the door. "Romana, are you through with whatever you were doing?"

"Quite through, Doctor," she said, standing to one side in the doorway but allowing him to brush past her on the way by. "I take it you handled everything all right?"

"Splendid, splendid." He reached into his pocket, then frantically patted himself down. "I can't find the TARDIS key."

"I have it," Romana said, striding firmly down the corridor, holding it over her head, letting it dangle from one finger. She didn't look back.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, as Alfred and the officers looked on, amused.

K-9 answered. "The mistress Romana-" _cough_ "-surreptitiously took it from your pocket 5.602 seconds ago, master." _Cough cough._

The Doctor and K-9 followed her.

* * *

Once inside the TARDIS, Romana left the Doctor to figure out what was wrong with K-9. She walked back to her room and stood facing herself in a full-length mirror. She took off all her clothes and let them fall to the floor, and held the Time's Pleasure between her breasts, smelling its sweet fragrance. She turned her body this way and that, admiring what she saw. Wondering when, exactly, she would see it again.

Change was in the air. She had received a glimpse of the future, and it was more exciting, more intense, more beautiful than she would have thought possible. And something within her told her that the time for that change was now.

A wise instructor had once told her that physical regenerations should match emotional ones, and she was definitely at the stage of an emotional regeneration. This dark-haired beauty standing before her would forever represent her innocent years: her time on Gallifrey, her search for the Key to Time.

She slowly reached out a finger to touch the glass, and a tear rolled down her cheek. But she was smiling. "Is this death?" she whispered. Perhaps it was. But this Romana had lived her life to the fullest. It was time for another Romana to begin.

Death. Change. Was there really a difference, in the end?

"Good-bye, Romana," she said softly. "It was so lovely knowing you. But I do know that I'll see you at least one more time."

And her body began to change.


End file.
